Grid for ice trays



June 19, 1945.v

R. L. HALLocK 2,378,845

GRID FOR ICE TRAYS Filed Oct. 16, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l Tar /0/ 3-NVENTOR A ATTORNEY.

.June 19, 1945. `R. L. AALLOCK 2,378,845

GRID FOR ICE TRAYS l Filed Oct. 16, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 @60% i1vENToR,

ATTORNEY.

l.lume 19, 1945.l R HALLQCK Y 2,378,845

GRID FOR ICE TRAYS Filed Oct. 16, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR,

zi, Mv( @'Wm June 19, 1945. R, L. HALLocK GRID FOR ICE TRAYS 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed OCC. 1G, 1940 IvENToR,

/YATTORNEK June19, 1945. R. L. 'HALLocK l 2,378,845

GRID FOR ICE TRAYS Filed Oct. 16, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June19, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE Gmb Fon ICE 'raars Robert LayHallock, Larchmont, N. Y. Application October 16, 1946, Serial No.361,366

(ci. cs2-loss) 16 Claims.

My invention relates to ice trays and `grids therefor of the kind usedin household refrigerators, and more particularly to distortable gridsor ice tray inserts from which ice pieces or cubes are released bydistortion of the grid.

In laccordance with my invention an improved mechanism is provided toeffect and insure complete loosening and freeing of ice cubes from theWall members of a distortable grid. I accomplish this by providing animproved mechanism of such a character that it is like a toggle-joint inits action and arranged to act at regions of a distortable grid spacedor removed from each other, `so that the grid may be subjected to forcesin opposite directions at the spaced regions to cause distortionthereof. In the presentrapplication disclosure, distorting mechanism ofthis type is employed in conjunction with grids which become' bowed whenthey are distorted. When the ends of the distorting mechanism areassociated with the ends of such a grid and the mechanism is movedtoward a straight line position, a large force is produced to causeoutward spreading of parts of the grid. In the preferred embodimentsillustrated and `described herein, the toppart of av grid is elongatedor stretched by the distorting mechanism while the lower part iscontracted or foreshortened, whereby the grid is effectively distortedto effect loosening of the ice pieces due to' upward bowing of the gridat its midportion and the movement of the lo'wer portions of grid endstoward each other. l

In accordance with my invention, I also provide an improved grid inwhich not only is relative bodily movement of the grid wall memberseffected when the grid is distorted, but additional movements of thewall members are produced to improve the freeing and loosening of theice pieces or ice cubes from-the grid wall members. These additionalmovements include warping and flexing of the individual wall members. Byproviding a distortable grid in which these additional movements areproduced when the grid is distorted, many forces are produced to loosenthe ice` bonds with greater facility than heretofore possible to insurecomplete loosening of the ice pieces or cubes from all of the Wallmembers to which they adhere.

In accordance with my invention, therefore, it is an object to providemechanism for a distortable'grid whereby the distortion produced isefwhich walls grid in which the mechanism is of such a char- ,I

acter that it is like a toggle-joint in its action and capable ofproducing an enormous: force to distort the grid even when a relativelysmall fective to loosen and free the ice pieces or cubes with` greaterfacility than heretofore possible.

It isanother object of the invention to proforce is applied to operatethe mechanism.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improvedmechanism for a distortable grid which may be readily operated while thegrid is disposed ina tray and ice cubes are frozen both to the walls ofthe distortable grid and the tray, the mechanism and distortable gridbeing of such a character that forces are set p within the grid itselfand independently of any tray coaction cause release of the ice piecesor cubes from the grid walls and tray walls.,

. It is a still further object oi the invention to provide an improvedmechanism for a distortable grid which is like a toggle-joint in itsaction and associated with the grid in such a manner that a mension ofthe grid is fore-shortened by bowing action at a region against a traysurface within which the grid is positioned for effectively severing theice pieces or cubes from the tray surface.

The above and other-objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description, taken withthe accompanying drawings showing preferred forms ofthe invention andforming part of the specication, it being understood that the.embodiments described are illustrative only and that the invention iscapable of varied forms of expression. y

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an ice tray and grid or ice tray insertembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view-taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, toillustrate more clearly the unstressed position' of the grid in the trayand distorted by is operated showing the mechanism for distortingk thegrid in raised position;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view, taken on line 3-3 of Fig 2, toillustrate more clearly the manner in which the individual longitudinalwall members and individual transverse wall members of the grid areconnected;

Fig. 4 vis an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, takenl on lined-4 ofFig. 3, to illustrate certain parts more clearly which are effective tocause individual bending or distortion of the wall members;

Fig. 5 is a side'elevation of an individual longitudinal wall member ofthe grid shown in Figs.

1 and 2;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of an individual transverse wall member ofthe grid shown in Figsf l and 2;

Fig. '1 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View, taken on line 1-1 ofFig. 2, to illustrate more clearly the connection of one end of thedistorting mechanism to an'end of the grid;

Fig. .8 is a side vertical sectional viewof the grid and tray shown inFig. .1, to illustrate the lgrid operation when the distorting mechanismis moved from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig.8, ice frozen in the tray being omitted for sake of clearness inillustration;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of the grid as shown inFig. 8, affording a side View of the individual longitudinal wallmembers, to illustrate the manner in which the transverse wall piecesare individually warped or flexed when the grid as a whole is distorted;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the grid and tray shown in Fig. 1 withthe toggle distorting mechanism moved from the vertical position in Fig.2 to a horizontal position;

Fig. 11 is an end view of the tray and grid shown in Fig. 10 with thedistorting mechanism in its horizontal position;

Fig. 12 is a plan view (partly broken away) of an ice tray and gridsimilar to that shown in Figs. l and 2. illustrating another form ofmechanisrn for distorting the grid;

Fig. 13 is a vertical sectional View of the tray and grid shown in Fig.v12 with the handles of the distorting mechanism moved from asubstantially horizontal position adjacent the upper edges of the gridwall members to an operating position at a region above the grid;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary view, taken at line I4-I4 of Fig. 13,to illustrate more clearly the manner in which the handles of thedistorting mechanism are locked in their upper operating positions;

Fig. 15 is a vertical sectional view, similar to Fig. 13, illustratingthe grid operation when the handles of the distorting mechanism arepressed downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 13 to the positionshown in Fig. 15;

Fig. 16 is a vertical sectional .View of the tray and grid shown in thepreceding gures provided with still another form of distorting mechanismfor distorting the grid in a manner similar to that shown in Figs. 8 and15;

Fig. 17 is a plan view of a tray and grid illustrating anotherembodiment of 'the invention with a modified form of grid provided withstill another form of distortion mechanism;

Fig. 18 is a vertical sectional view, taken on line I8-I8 of Fig. 17, toillustrate features of the grid and distorting mechanism more clearly;

Fig. 19 is a. vertical sectional view taken on line Ill-I9 of Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is a side view of an individual longitudinal wall member of thegrid shown in Figs. 17

and 18;

Fig. 21 is a side View of an individual transverse web or cross wallmember of the grid shown in Figs. 1'7 and 18;

g Figs. 22 and 23 are side views of the individual center wall piecesemployed'at opposite ends of the grid shown in Figs. 17 and 18;

Fig. 24 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional v view, taken on line 24-24of Fig. 18, illustrating how the interlocked handles of the distortingmechanism appear when viewed from the under side thereof;

Fig. 25 is a vertical sectional view, taken through the center lines ofthe handles shown in Fig. 24 when the handles are raised from thehorizontal position shown in Fig. lto a position similar to the handlesshown in Fig. 13; and

Fig. 26 is a fragmentary sectional View of av modification in grid andhandle structure.

Referring first to the embodiment shown in Figs. l to l1, the tray l0 ismade of thin metal,`

such as aluminum, is shallow, open at the top, and dat-bottomed,Withslightly outwardly sloping side walls and somewhat more sloping endwalls.

The device which is set into the tray to partition the internal spacethereof, generally called a grid, consists of the grid proper Il handleI2.

The grid proper Il includes a backbone I3` which is relatively narrowand eitends along the bottom of the tray and has end uprights I4, whichmay be integral with the bottom part. At least the bottom part ofbackbone I3 is tempered to constitute -a spring. The entire piece may bemade of a spring tempered aluminum alloy.

The grid includes a number of separate longitudinal wall pieces l5, I5band I5c, and transverse walls or webs 20, preferably stamped from thinsheet aluminum. Except for the two end longitudinal wall pieces, wallpieces I5 are alike. One such piece I5 is shown in Fig. 5. It includes alower` prong 24 providing a narrow slot 25, a prong 26 directly aboveprong 24 providing a wide slot 21, a prong 28 at the other end of thetop edge providing a narrow slot 29, and a lower projection I5a.

The transverse webs 20 are alike and one such web is shown in Fig. 6.These webs are provided at their lower central portions with oppositelydirected webs 2| for attachment to the backbone I3 as by spot-welding orriveting. They have slots 23 at the bottom and apertures 22 near thetop. In assembly, prongs I26 and 28 pass through apertures 22. Prongs 24and projectionsl I5a pass through slots 23.

End wall I5b has an upper prong 28 and a lower projection I5a. It alsohas a prong 3l which passes through a slot in the upper part of uprightI4. End wall I5c has a lower prong 24 and upper and a.

l both the tray and the nevertheless be provided in in the positionshown in Fig. 10. The uprights I4 are formed `with depressions I4b intowhich the necks o1' the lower leaf or the handle seat when the handle isin raised positio The operation is as follows: j

'I'he tray containing water and the grid isplaced in a refrigerator withhandle I2 in the position shown in Figs. and l1. When the ice isfrozen,the tray'is removed and the handle raised to the position shown in Fig.2. Pressure is then applied downwardly on handle I2 while the ice andgrid are still in the tray. The resulting action is in part pictured inFig. 8. -The handle acts as a toggle-joint and in tending to straightenexerts opposite outward forces at the upper ends ol uprights I4, whichspreads the grid along its upper part. The grid is bowed as shown inFig. 2. It will be understood that a large force is provided lengthwiseof the handle of the togglejoint.as this handle approaches straight lineposition. `In the initial movement the uprights I4 contact prongs 3| ofend longitudinal wall pieces I5b and I 5c. The end forces aretransmitted both through backbone I3 itself. and through end pieces I5band I5c. The result is an upward bowing of the grid and wall pieces anda warping of the transverse wall pieces which causes the ice to beseparated from grid walls.. 'This warping action is illustrated in Fig.9 and can be positively produced when the grid is operated without icecubes frozen to the grid walls. 'Ihe slots 25 being oi' a width equal toor only very slightly section without separation at other sections, the

prong 26 comes into play and contacts the transverse web and transmitsthe'force so that further force causes separation at other sections.These prongs 26 may be omitted if the backbone is heavy enough or strongenough so as to transmit the necessary internal forces. If prongs 26 areomitted, as such, projections similar to I 5a would their stead to holdthe longitudinal pieces in place.

The upward 4bowing of the backbone causes `upward force against the icepieces to assist in separating the ice pieces from wall pieces I5.

I'he one movement of the handle I2 loosens 4the ice cubes from both thetray and the grid. It

will be seen that the separating action is an internal action within thegrid itself. Externally of the grid and ice block, the downward pressuremust, of course, be balanced by upward reaction, but this has noloosening effect and is a nullity so far as concerns separation of theice from the tray and grid. Likewise the end thrust does not of itselfloosen any cubes. It is the conversion of the downward force intohorizontal forces and their transmission through the backbone and the'resultant internal forces which severs the bottom of the tray from theice and loosens the cubes. The change of direction of the forces is aninternal change, essentially within spring members themselves. It willbe understood that the lower i two overlapping aring of the longitudinalgreater than the thickness of the transverse webs,

Figs. 12 to 15, the

dles acting as a toggle.'

mparto! the backbone is foreshortened as it bowsV upwardly. i

In the embodiment oi' my invention shown in Bl'id II islike that ofFiss.lto 11 and operates in the same way. I'he grid distorting mechanism isdiiierent and consists of extensions of the grid backbone Il. Handles 38may be of spring materialV like the backbone. The handles are biasedsideways toward each other so as to press against each other laterallywhen raised.' They are provided with notches 4I in the adjacent sides sopositioned that the handles lqbk inthe: respective notches when raisedby and to the position shown in Fig.` 13. The ha dles are so tensionedthat they tend to move to the horizontal position shown inFig. 12. 'I'hehandles can be unlocked when in the position shown in Fig. 13 byspreading them laterally and then they can be allowed to lowerthemselves to the normal position of Fig. 12.

With the handles engaged in the position `shown in Fig. 13, the grid IIis distorted .by applying downward pressure to the outer ends ofthehandles.` This spreads the uprights I4 with the han- The grid isbowed as shown in Fig. 15 and the same warping of the transverse webstakes place as in the earlier described embodiment. Fig. 14 shows howthe notches 4| are preferably shaped to give a deflnite lock and toassure the handles remaining locked when pushed downwardly` understress.

In Fig. 16 I have shown still another, form of distorting mechanismconsisting of two rigid arms 46 pivoted to each other at 41 and havingears 48 projecting through and preferably rotatable in holes 49 inuprights I4. The toggle-joint may be removable so that a singletoggle-,joint may be used with a number of grids.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. i7 to 25. The trayI0 may be the same. The backbone 5U is also made of spring stock in thiscase. recessed at 5I to receive ears 52 on end pieces and 65 of thelongitudinal wall of the grid. The ends also extend through slots 53 inhandle parts 54 and 55 and are turned over at their upper extremities at56 to loosely hold the handle parts to the backbone. Transverse walls 51are provided similar to walls --20 of Figs. 1, 2, 3. 4 and 6. These areflanged at the bottom and attached to the backbone 50 by spotweldng,riveting, or in other suitable manner, indicated at 65.

Longitudinal wall pieces 58 are provided which are in general similar tomembers I5. They have similar prongs 28 (seeFig. 20) and slots 25,functioning in the same manner to warp the transverse wall pieces. Guideprojections 59 'are provided at the upper ends opposite prongs iii.These .may be made like prongs 26 with. slots 2l. Projections 28 and 59pass through slots 22 in members 51, when the grid is assembled, andprojections 24 pass through slots 23 in members 5T. Members 58 are heldin place solely by their interlock with the transverse webs.

4End piece 64 (Fig. 22) is formed with a narrow gap prong 28. End piece65 (Fig. 23) is formed with a narrow gap prong 24 and either a guide 59or a wide gap prong.

Handle55 passes through an opening 60 in handle 54 which is providedwith ears 6I adapted to engage under ears 62 on handle 55 when thehandles are raised to the position shown in Fig. 25.

In operation, ice is frozen with the grid vvhan- The ends extendupwardly and aref dies in the position shown in Fig. 18. To' obtainspreads the uprightends of'backbone 50 apart. v.

After these upright ends engage ears 52, a bowing action is transmittedto the grid as in the case of the .other embodiments. At the same timethe transverse wall members are individually warped bythe action ofprongs 24' and 28 engaging the transverse webs on opposite sides nearthe bottoms and tops of the transverse webs respectively.

A modification is shown in Fig. 26 in which the spring backbone member4is fiat and terminates substantially at the end walls of the tray I0.The longitudinal end web or wall piece 'll takes over the function ofthe upright backbone in transmitting the operating force. For thisApurpose end piece 'll is made of heavier stock than pieces 58. It issecured to backbone 10 as by a clip '|2 on each side of wall 1l. Iprefer that wall 1| have some slight movement ahead of the main bowingaction and before warping of any transverse webs so as to rst provide acutting action'to separate the end ice cubes. This can be obtained bygiving to end piece or plate ll'a proper size and connection to clip 12;or rivets 13 in clips 12 may have movement in oversize holes in plate1l. With the plate ll being provided with a prong like the prong 24 inend wall |50 in Fig. 2, the gap therein lmay be widened to give thedesired first movement of wall 1l. The same applies to a prong at theopposite longitudinal end wall like ythe prong 28 in end wall I5b inFig. 2. A wide gap prong 2B may be provided on wall 1| to assure forcetransmission through the same to other parts of the grid. A standard 14is attached to the upper part of wall 1| and passes through a slot inthe handle and provides the abutment against which the handle exerts itslengthwise thrust.

It will be apparent that variations may be made within the spirit andscope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a grid for an ice tray, a flexible wall ele-.

ment, and plates having prongs projecting through the plane of saidelement and adapted to engage opposite sides thereof at spaced pointssqA6. Adistortable grid as set forth in claim 5 in which said mechanismincludes two handles mov- 4jacent ^'the top of able from a substantiallyhorizontal position adthe grid to an upperlocked position at which handpressure may be applied to cause said handles to move toward a straightline position.

7. distortable grid as set forth in claim 5 in y tion yat which handpressure may be applied to said plates being movable to cause saidprongsto nex said element.

2. In a distortable grid for an ice tray, a plate member having a narrowslot and a wider slot at one vertical edge thereof and another platehaving a part engaged in the narrow slot and another part engaged in thewider slot.

3. A grid having a handle at the top thereof. said handle being pivotedat its ends to said grid and operable in the manner of a toggle-joint tospread and move the ends away from each other to distort the grid.

4. In a grid for an ice tray, a flexible backbone, and mechanismoperable in the manner of a toggle-joint to cause upward bending of thecenter of the flexible backbone so that the end portions thereof arebrought closer together.

5. A distortable grid including a plurality of compartment formingmembers arranged to move with respect to each other when the grid isdistorted, and mechanism constructed andl arranged to operate in themanner of a toggle-joint and operable to cause force application inopposite directions at spaced points of the grid when hand pressure isapplied downward on said mechanism to move the latter toward a straightline position to effect distortion of the grid.

cause said handles to move toward a straight line position. and saidhandles including outer portions extending beyond the locked region toincrease the force multiplication produced by said mechanism when handpressure is applied to one or both said outer portions.

8. A grid as set forth in claim 5 in which said mechanism includes twohandles disposed more 0r less in side by side relation in asubstantially horizontal position adjacent the top of the grid, saidhandles having notches which become effective to lock said handlestogether when the latter are moved from the substantially horizontalpositionito vertically extending positions at which hand pressure may beapplied to cause said handles to move toward the straight line.position.

9. A grid as set forth in claim 5 in which said mechanism includes twohandles, one of which is provided with an opening through which theother always passes, said handles normally being disposed in asubstantially horizontal position adjacent the top of the grid andmovable from such horizontal position to vertically extending posi-'tions, and said handles being constructed and arranged so that they maybe locked when moved to the vertically extending positions at which handpressure may be applied to cause said handles to move toward a straightline position.

10. In a grid for an ice tray, a distortable member, mechanismassociated with said'grid and operative to assume a first position atthe top of said grid, such mechanism being movable from said firstposition to a second position above said grid, and said mechanism insaid second position being operable in the manner of a toggle-joint tocause distortion of said member.

11. In a grid for an ice tray, a spring, mechanism associated with saidgrid and operative to assume a rst position at the top of said grid,such mechanism being movable from said first position to a secondposition above said grid, and said mechanism in said second positionbeing operable in the manner of a toggle-joint to cause bending of saidspring.

12. In a grid for an ice tray, a flexible backbone, mechanism associatedwith said grid and operative to assume a rst position at the top of saidgrid, such mechanism being movable from said first position to a secondposition at the top of said grid, and said mechanism in said secondposition being operable in the manner of a togglejoint to cause flexingof said backbone.

13. In a grid for an ice tray, a distortable wall structure, mechanismassociated with said grid and operative to assume a first position atthe top of said grid, such mechanism being movable from said firstposition to a second position above said grid, and said mechanism insaid second position being operable in the manner of a togglejoint tocause distortion of said wall structure.

14. A grid having a flexible bottom member and upright ends, said endsbeing capable while being spread apart of bending said bottom member, atoggle-joint connected to said ends and movable from a first position atthe top of said grid to a second position above said grid, and saidtogglejoint in said second position being operable when force is appliedthereto to spread said upright ends apart.

15. A grid for an ice tray including a normally straight sided resilientmember, mechanism operable in the manner of a toggle-joint, saidmechanism being pivotally connected to said member at spaced apartpoints and movable from a rst position at the top of said grid to asecond position above said grid, said mechanism in said second positionbeing operable to ex said member when force is applied thereto, and icecube compartment walls mounted on said member.

16. A tray and grid assembly including a tray and a grid having a partnormally resting against said tray where an ice bond is frozen betweenthe -grid and the tray, mechanism operable in the manner of atoggle-joint associated with said grid, such mechanism being operativeto assume a first position at the top of said grid and movable therefromto a second position above said grid, and said mechanism in said secondposition being operable when force is applied thereto to causedistortion of said part and etlect separation of saidpart from the trayand break the ice bond formed therebetween.

ROBERT LAY HALLOCK.

